European Road Trip – 6 rules to enjoy it

Counting down the days to our new adventure, I find myself checking and double checking the lists I long prepared with all the things we need to take with us. You see, this is not a typical roadtrip, it’s a move to another country some thousands kilometers away. While moving to another country is quite an adventure itself, we just couldn’t skip the opportunity and turn this into a roadtrip (Yay!) and good news is we are taking you with us. You can follow our roadtrip adventures onInstagramand Facebook page!

I must confess to you that there are moments I feel overwhelmed by this new situation in our lives. It’s not the first time to relocate for career pursue and it’s not even the first time to move abroad for the same reason. Being back home for the past six years was some kind of a break actually, so one might say that we are very experienced with this procedure, but… knowing what to expect means you already now you will need a considerable period of adjustment to your new life. By adjustment I mean, paperwork, orientation, finding the perfect home and creating a household from scratch. Specially home searching can be very frustrating in the beginning because you are doing it alone, you don’t know how convenient or not an area is, and don’t let me start on the real-estate agencies and the different way they work in different countries.

Having said that (I already feel better letting it out) back to the fun part.

Since I have been roadtripping with my parents from a very young age, I would like to share with you some of the gained experience. The philosophy of taking long trips with just your car is quite different than traveling with a caravan (I am a big fan of the first category) but there are a few basic things which apply in both. These are the 8 rules I came up with that will make your car trip easier and more fun.

1. Check car before leaving. Car trouble is something to be avoided at all costs while road tripping. For example, oil is one of those things that’s super easy to take care of but can quickly dampen a road trip.

2. Stock up on snacks. Making frequent stops to admire landscapes or visit the cute little village you saw on internet is one thing. No one wants to make frequent stops for food. It’s just a loss of time and money. My experienced road trip snack recommendation: Almonds & walnuts, dried fruits, crackers and lots of water. Spot a grocery store in the visiting areas and do yourself a favor by getting some fresh fruit, carrots and cucumbers. Of course you can go with the chips & cookies plan but when roadtripping you’d rather feel energized and healthy than fed up with salt and sugar.

3. Playlists are essential. Approaching a road trip without at least a couple playlists is going to make the trip get old real quick. Even if the road trip is meant to be spontaneous, I always make sure to have a handful of solid playlists ready to go beforehand. For example we will be having a playlist with our beloved jazz music, a playlist with classic rock masters, one with our favorite 60’s, one with 80’s songs and last but not least some classical music. Some parts of your trip may be so monumental that the only appropriate music background is classical music.

4. Windows down, music up. If your hand isn’t out the window and you’re not singing loudly and/or generally rocking out, then I’m sorry but you’re doing it all wrong.

5. Communicate with your partner. “Windows down, music up” is the motto but it’s a long drive. Talk! This is not a lonely sport. Even if you think you have said everything with your road trip partner, you have to talk about the adventure you are experiencing. Express yourselves, talk about the things you expect to see and do or tell them what you liked so far. Taking a road trip with someone else opens up an entirely new chance for connection.

6. Pack a physical map, just in case. GPS makes road trips way easier and smartphone apps like Roadtrippers have cool things to do while on the road. But when you veer off the beaten path and service goes out and the roads start getting bumpier, you’ll wish you had a physical map for help. Trust me.

Road Trip essentials

Maps

Cooler

Cup holders

Car charger

Spare tire

Camera

Pen

Travel planning is a whole different field which I can’t wait to share with you in the future. For the meantime, I would like to point your attention in these two ultimate rules for roadtrippers…

As a professional road tripper myself, these are wonderful tips! I also like to bring a pillow (namely my favorite pillow pet), since napping kills the most time for me. Definitely keeping a stock of your favorite drinks helps, too 🙂

Oh YES, the pillow! I used to have a crescent shaped one just for traveling. On behalf of my neck, thank you for reminding me 😉 Btw I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love lists! I’m happy you found me because I found you too!

Sadly I can’t drive, it was never a big deal to me until I realised how helpful it is to travelling and getting to little unknown places that public transport can’t reach. As soon as I have a car and can drive I’ll be gone forever (hopefully haha) Love this post, awesome tips 🙂

I am impressed with your work. Regarding your passion for cooking, I only review restaurants (besides hotels ad Attractions) on the TripAdvisor (as Top Contributor), besides my blogging on the WordPress.com

Thank you so much for the encouragement, I really appreciate it. I am a TripAdvisor enthusiast too but it’s been months since my last review. I love the idea of sharing real info for real people, plus it was an excellent tool for case studies while I was working as a Trainer for the industry of hospitality in Greece. I strongly believe that while food is one of life’s greatest pleasures, seeing the world makes it worth living!
Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and write a comment. I too am impressed by 80steps and I can’t wait to dig on your TripAdvisor reviews for some inspiration 😉

As a Top Contributor, Triple Expert [Hotels (40), Restaurants (70) & Attractions (91)] and Top Photographer [643], I have modest readership of 207,679 (worldwide) as of Aug. 14, 2016 and yet I feel I could better. It all depends how much I can travel around the world. To date, have covered only 585 cities or places in 55 countries. Now I am getting back to my blogs.

About

Welcome to Live Eat Create. I'm Constance, a passionate cook, a creative DIY'er, a traveler and a bohemian at heart, sharing delicious recipes, DIY tutorials and the joy of living the life of an expat somewhere around Europe.